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THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING OUR VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Thank you to those of you who were able to attend our Virtual Town Hall yesterday. Our goal was to create a time and place where bookstore members could express their concerns about the aggressive growth of Barnes & Noble and its acquisition of Books Inc. as well as share ideas for what we can do as an organization and a community to continue to strengthen California’s Indie bookstores in the current market.
There were a few clear takeaways from this meeting:
1: We need to do this again. Time and Date TBD.
2: The booksellers in attendance were most interested in the following actions:
- Member Education on Succession Planning and Financial Management Planning
- Awareness Campaigns (that can be turned around quickly) for Customer/ Community Education on what an Indie Bookstore contributes to a community and how to support them!
- Approaching City Leaders to affect policies around small business/ Indie Bookstore protections
- Educating ourselves on any legal rights we have or actions we can take in regards to B&N stores marketing themselves as Indies.
- Continuing the conversation of valuing, supporting, and strengthening Indie Bookstores within the Book Industry as a whole.
3: CALIBA is only as strong as its members' participation, so if you are particularly passionate about an idea shared above (or in the future) please reach out to Hannah to get involved: hannah@caliballiance.org.
If you were unable to attend the meeting, we want to hear from you too! We’ve put together this form (login required) where you can provide feedback on what was discussed in this first meeting as well as submit your own concerns and ideas. At this time, we only have this form open to current bookstore members.
This conversation will be continued and actions will be taken. Stay tuned for more.
Best Wishes,
Hannah
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